How and Why the Peasants Were Deceived

Published:First published inPravdaNo. 96, July 14 (1), 1917.

      Published according to thePravdatext.Source:Lenin
	  Collected Works,

      Progress Publishers,1977,

      Moscow,Volume 25,

      pages148-150.Translated:Transcription\Markup:R. CymbalaPublic Domain:Lenin Internet Archive.  

      2002You may freely copy, distribute,
	display and perform this work, as well as make derivative and
	commercial works. Please credit “Marxists Internet
	Archive” as your source.•README

Itis known that when peasant deputies from all over Russia
      arrived in Petrograd for their All-Russia Congress, they were
      promised—by the Socialist-Revolutionaries and by the
      government—that the sale and purchase of land would be
      immediately prohibited.

Atfirst, Minister Pereverzev really wanted to carry out that
      promise, and sent a telegram to stop all transactions involving
      the sale or purchase of land. But later some invisible hand
      intervened, and Minister Pereverzev withdrew his telegram to the
      notaries public, i.e., again permitted the sale and purchase of
      land.

Thepeasants began to worry. If I am not mistaken, they even
      sent a delegation to the Ministry.

Thepeasants were reassured. They were soothed as one soothes
      little children. They were assured that alawwould be
      issued immediately prohibiting the sale and purchase of land and
      that Pereverzev’s temporary order had been
      “suspended”“only”because such
      a law was
      about to be issued.

TheSocialist-Revolutionaries reassured the peasants and fed
      them with promises. The peasants believed them. The peasants
      felt reassured. The peasants went home.

Weekspassed.

OnJune 24—no earlier—news appeared in the papers
      that Minister Chernov, leader of the Socialist-Revolutionary
      Party, had submitted a Bill to the government (no more than a
      Bill, as yet) to prohibit the sale and purchase of land.

OnJune 29, the papers published reports about a “private
      conference” of the Duma, held on June 28. At the
      conference,according toRech(a paper of the majority party in the
      Provisional Government), Mr. Rodzyanko

“inhis concluding remarks dwelt on the question of land
      transactions in connection with the new [oh yes, exceedingly
      new, new in the extreme!] government measures. He maintained
      that if land deals were prohibited, land would lose its value
      [for whom? For the landowners, obviously!! But isn’t it from
      them that the peasants want to take the land?], all security for
      loans would depreciate, and the landowners [the former
      landowners, Mr. Rodzyanko!] would be denied all credit. From
      what funds, asked Rodzyanko, will the landowners pay their
      debts to the banks? In most cases the debts are already overdue,
      and this Bill would lead to the immediate and legitimate
      abolition of all landed property without auctions.“Inview of this, Rodzyanko proposed that the conference
      should instruct the Provisional Committee to examine the matter
      in order toendeavour to prevent the enactment of a lawthat would be fatal to the state, not to private ownership of
      land.”

“inhis concluding remarks dwelt on the question of land
      transactions in connection with the new [oh yes, exceedingly
      new, new in the extreme!] government measures. He maintained
      that if land deals were prohibited, land would lose its value
      [for whom? For the landowners, obviously!! But isn’t it from
      them that the peasants want to take the land?], all security for
      loans would depreciate, and the landowners [the former
      landowners, Mr. Rodzyanko!] would be denied all credit. From
      what funds, asked Rodzyanko, will the landowners pay their
      debts to the banks? In most cases the debts are already overdue,
      and this Bill would lead to the immediate and legitimate
      abolition of all landed property without auctions.

“Inview of this, Rodzyanko proposed that the conference
      should instruct the Provisional Committee to examine the matter
      in order toendeavour to prevent the enactment of a lawthat would be fatal to the state, not to private ownership of
      land.”

Here,then, is the “invisible hand” made visible!
      Here is the “cunning mechanism” of the coalition
      government, with its near-socialist Ministers, given away by
      this gentleman, this former Chairman of the former Duma, this
      former landowner, this former confidant of Stolypin the Hangman,
      this former protector of the agent .provocateur
      Malinovsky—Mr. Rodzyanko!

Letus even assume that now that Mr. Rodzyanko has so clumsily
      let the cat out of the bag, the law prohibiting the sale and
      purchase of land will at last be passed. At last!

Butthat is not the whole point. The point is that this striking
      example should make clear to all of us, and help the peasants
      understand,how and why the peasants were deceived.For
      the fact is incontrovertible and indubitable: they have deceived
      the peasants bynotfulfilling immediately what they
      had promised to fulfil immediately at the All-Russia Congress of
      Peasants’ Deputies.

Howdid they deceive the peasants? By feeding them with
      promises. That is the “cunning mechanism” of every
      coalition government on earth, i.e., of every bourgeois
      Ministry which includes traitors to socialism. In these
      Ministries, former socialists serve—whether consciously or
      not makes no difference—as tools with which the
      capitalists deceive the people.

Whywere the peasants deceived? Because the tools of deceit, the
      Socialist-Revolutionaries—we shall make themost favourable assumption aboutthem—themselves failed
	to understandthe cunning mechanism of class domination and
      class policy in the present administration of Russia. The
      Socialist-Revolutionaries allowed themselves to be led astray by
      talk. But actually, as the Rodzyanko “incident” shows
      very well, Russia is being ruled by a bloc between two blocs, by
      an alliance between two alliances.

Onebloc is the bloc of the Cadets and the monarchist
      landowners, among whom Mr. Rodzyanko ranks first. The existence
      of this bloc as a political fact was shown to the whole of
      Russia during the Petrograd elections, whenallthe
      Black Hundred papers,allthe papers to the right of
      the Cadets, supported the Cadets. Thanks to the Socialist-
      Revolutionaries and Mensheviks, this bloc has amajorityin the government. This bloc delayed the
      prohibition of transactions involving the sale and purchase of
      land. It is supporting the landowners and thecapitalists
      responsible for the lock-outs.

Thesecond bloc is that of the Socialist-Revolutionaries and the
      Mensheviks, which has deceived the people by empty
      promises. Skobelev and Tsereteli, Peshekhonov and Chernov
      promised an awful lot. It is easy to make promises. The
      “socialist” Ministers’ method of feeding the people
      with promises has been tried ineveryadvanced country
      in the world and has everywhere ended in failure. Russia’s
      specific feature is that owing to the revolutionary situation
      in the country the failure of the Socialist-Revolutionary and
      Menshevik parties will be worse and will come sooner than usual.

Letevery worker and every soldier use this example, which is
      particularly instructive to the peasants, to fully explain to
      the peasantshow and why they were deceived!

Thepeasants can only achieve their ends in alliance with the
      workers, not in a bloc (alliance) with the capitalists.